Tuesday, May 22, 2012

To get to the point I have done 5 gigs with the system and I only feel comfortable using the Bose L1 Model 2 and one 15" active subwoofer for 100 to150 people wedding or two 15's active subwoofer for a larger party up to 250 and that's all you need! One 15" active subwoofer is the same or more than 4 Bose B1's. (less stuff to carry)

One problem with the Bose base cabinets is the volume level is set to low inside the Bose power stand and there is no way to turn them up without using the Bose tone match engine ($500 add-on mixer board) or a separate EQ. With that said you're just pumping up the lower eq band to compensate for lack of volume which is probably not right. You can not do this from the 3 band EQ on the mixer either, it won't work and it does not sound right. You must have a 16 band EQ or similar for fine tuning. These speaker are very sensitive to EQ settings otherwise it sound muddy.

After tweaking with the separate 16 band EQ I was able to get the L1 M2 with the 4 Bose base cabinets to sound right at a wedding. At medium volume level and it sounded very nice; wedding style type sound. This is what other wedding DJs rave about because since you don't need to get really loud at a wedding it sounds really good. But when I played at high volume the Highs and Mids were able to keep up but the bass started to lack in the mid bass area and low end started to sound like the bass drum in "Pop Musik" from M. Thunk, thunk, thunk and you can start to feel they were being pushed to their limits. You can use the 4 B1 bass cabinets but you will be at their limits and it will leave you wanting more especially on hip hop songs.

Thus introducing the Active 15" or 18" speaker. Control is the word here gentlemen. Because the active speaker has a separate volume control and along with low pass output from the Bose power stand you now have your crossovered subwoofer for the low end with all the bass and mid bass kick you ever want. This was tested at a Middle school Dance. When you bring the levels from medium to high the bass follows and glorious bass can be heard and felt in your chest. This is the line that separates the wedding DJ from the club DJs when it comes to the Bose L1 system. You do not have to be Loud at a wedding. I now understand why all the old people looked at me all crazy and then proceed to leave the room; too loud. This mind set is where I was for the last year and now that I have experience the Bose I'm now starting to understand how to limit my need for bass when I really don't need it. I may want it but I don't need it, it's a wedding. This is where the complements of great sound from guest come into play. Wow the sound is clean, I can hear the person clearly during the toast and Mike you're so handsome...going back to the review.

In my situation I have a JBL PRX6-15m which is a full range speaker. There is that old saying "Use what you got!" Since the Bose power stand has a active crossover output built in to it, I just plug my JBL 15" into the output signal of the power stand and got a subwoofer output crossed over around 100Hz. Yes, the JBL tweeter is still on but since there is no high signal there is no high output therefor no problem. My other option was to use the built in crossover output on the separate 16 band EQ to get the same results. Plus I still have my JBL 18" PRX6 18S-XLF which is designed as a subwoofer which would work as well. Also if I ever have a problem with the bose system, I already have my backup speakers, the JBL PRX6-15m. I just unplug the bose and plug it into the JBLs on tripod stands. The Bose power stand is rated at 500 watts (probably 200 to 300 watts to subs. My JBLs are rated at 1000 (probably 500-600 watts to subs).

With the Bose L1 M2 and 4 Bose bass cabinets AND PROPER EQ the sounds is very good and clean until you turn it up and play a songs like Big Sean ft. Nicki Minaj - Dance (Ass) then it all goes out the window and I want my 18" PRX6 18S-XLF speakers hooked up so I can get this bitch on the floor, smack her ass and get ghetto on herrrrrr. Makes me wanna get Crunk Style...ok, nevermind.

As I evaluate the sound, walk back and forth, left and right across the dance floor I was amazed how evenly distributed the music presented (no hot spots), voice on the mic is clearer and crisper, feedback is almost gone or at least diminished immensely especially if you walk in from of the speakers and lots of people could still have conversations around the speakers. I had a chance to provide sound system with a mic at the Eastridge mall in San Jose, CA and you could hear the announcer clearly back to 500ft or more.

Even though I had to return the Bass cabinets because they where no use to me, I'm glad I bought the Bose L1 Model 2 speakers. It's a different way on presenting sound because it's not a piercing sound like from a megaphone, the dispersed sound is easier on the ears and there for better application for most of my events.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

JBL PRX6-15m and JBL PRX618S-XLF Overheating Solution

I currently have (2)JBL PRX6-15m & (2) JBL PRX618S-XLF speakers as part of my DJ System. Date: 3/22/2012

I had the grey JBL EONS G1s for 8 years which led to buy the new PRX6 series. I bought my new speakers on 1/12/2011 so after reading the forums I think I have the first generation speakers for the series.

Issue:

My first overheating experience was at a small bar/club and my console, two tops and one 18in subs were in the corner. After 3 hours my sub turn off 2 times due to amp getting hot. The next day I called JBL about my problem and they said the speakers needed more air circulation or else it will shutdown otherwise you need to get a small 5in house fan. I then hung up. Wow, If they only spent $5 on a installing an internal fan like QSC I would have this problem! DOH!

My second experience with overheating was at a wedding. I had my two 15in top and after 3 hours in to the dance I notice the speakers sounding weird. They did not shutdown but I was pushing them enough for the red limiter to come with every bass note. The amp was hot and it sounded like the circuitry was toning down the bass for me which kept me pushing up the volume on the mixer. Soon it started sounding like a large old school boom box. After that the mid range got crappy from all the distortion and I finally brought the volume half way down.

Thoughts:

The speakers sound awesome for the first couple hours when the amp is not super hot, after that it all goes to pot. The amps seem to live on the edge of meltdown due to it having no fan or any type of circulation, not even holes to let air pass through the inside of the amp where are the components live. An almost flat heat sink is just not enough to cool the amp sufficiently. I wish they did some real world testing before they mass produce it. Imagine if this was an outdoor party during a hot day; overheat in 30 minutes = Epic Fail.

Solution:

Here is what I had to do to resolve my PRX6-15m & PRX618S-XLF overheating issue.